LAKEVILLE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION TEACHING SKATING THE IMPORTANCE OF SKATING LHA TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR

THE IMPORTANCE OF SKATING TECHNIQUE

“The speed in today’s hockey is mindboggling. Every year we see

players who are bigger, stronger, and faster. The players who dominate the sport are usually those who are the

fastest and the most skilled.”

THE IMPORTANCE OF SKATING TECHNIQUE TRAINING •  In recent years, they are predominantly Europeans.

Why?

•  Because European players learn to skate before they are allowed to use the puck; they work on skill development before they play games.

Skill development is the most important aspect of their early training.

SKATE FAST OR….

“The two most fundamental hockey skills are skating and stick-handling. However, it’s pretty difficult to be a

great puck handler if you can’t maneuver the puck while skating fast!”

ANOTHER HOCKEY MYTH:

•  If players skate more they’ll get faster or become better skaters. FALSE! –  “More” does not equal “better.” – Quality ice time & Quality instruction is

much more valuable than quantity ice time.

THE SCIENCE OF SKATING

• Why does the blade slide on the ice? –  Water has the uncommon property of expanding

when it freezes. If you apply pressure to ice, it melts. So, when the blade presses against the ice, it creates a thin film of water which acts as lubricant, and allows you to slide.

–  When you are skating, you actually are sliding on a thin film of liquid water.

THE SCIENCE OF SKATING

• Why does the blade turn when I lean? –  Next time you skate, glide straight ahead on a

flat. Using your ankle and nothing else, tilt the skate to the right or left, and feel how it turns you in that direction. Look at the shape of the blade. (ankle strength).

–  As the blade moves along the ice, it will follow this curve.

THE SCIENCE OF SKATING

• Hollow ground –  You probably know that your blade has two edges, inside

and outside, and that there is a "hollow" between the edges.

–  Average hockey skate/ sharpening is 1/2”-5/8” radius –  Small children (with little body weight) require sharper

blades and a relatively deep hollow to enable the edges to dig into the ice more easily. Conversely, heavier people can skate with less sharp blades and a shallower hollow.

•  Mike Madono- 1.2” radius

THE SCIENCE OF SKATING

• Contouring versus Rockering

THE STRIDE •  Which is more important Strength or

Technique?

•  Moving the feet fast with improper and incomplete leg drive may look fast, but in studying the distances traveled per stride it becomes obvious that these players often end up "going nowhere fast". –  Fast efficiency is the goal

STRENGTH VS TECHNIQUE •  How much of skating is strength and how much of

it is mechanics or technique? –  It's difficult to draw the line, both are important, but it is

thought that mechanics is the more important of the two.

•  The importance of skating practice to hockey players - who should practice skating technique and why? –  Today's hockey is all about speed. Players fly down the

ice at speeds not conceived of in years past. Competitive players who aspire to play hockey at a high level must master balance, agility, and maneuverability (BAM). Recreational players inevitably find the game of hockey more fun as their skating improves.

STRENGTH VS TECHNIQUE •  The importance of "skating position" to balance,

power and speed? –  Skating is an extremely precise and intricate activity.

Position is critical; any loss of it will inevitably have a negative result.

•  "Skating position" is actually a combination of many components; these include knee bend, edges, leg drive and leg recoveryweight shift upper body positioning and control usage of the arms

•  The combined correct usage of these components is critical to balance, power, and speed.

STRENGTH VS TECHNIQUE •  Marion Gabrik

(Acceleration tread mill) –  17 mph/ 30 strides/ 30

seconds

•  5 weeks –  19 mph/ 20 stride/ 30

seconds –  Effective stride technique +

improved power

STRENGTH VS TECHNIQUE •  Is there a right way and a wrong way to teach

hockey skating?

•  LHA believe’s that the right way of teaching is to break down each maneuver into its many motions or parts. Players should learn each part separately and perform drills to perfect each part. The parts must then be put together so that the "whole" maneuver is performed correctly.

•  In order to teach it correctly, skating stride must be understood correctly.

STRENGTH VS TECHNIQUE •  Teaching sequence:

–  focus on performing the maneuver correctl –  then powerfully –  then quickly –  finally, all three (correctly, powerfully, quickly), –  with the puck and then in games and under lots of

pressure.

•  Telling players to "do this" or "do that" or "follow me" doesn't work. They don't know what "this" means. They must experience each part of the technique.

HOW TO TEACH THE STRIDE •  Teach by appealing to the intellectual abilities of

the students, then by incorporating all the senses –students need to –  see (visualize) –  feel –  hear –  and think. –  FAST method - FEEL, ACT, SEE, THINK.

Therefore we must have many different ways of explaining things and use many different drills to teach the same thing. I always try to keep this in mind.

HOW TO TEACH THE STRIDE •  How much skating should be done in hockey

practices? –  Skating should be included in every hockey practice; not

just skating for endurance but skating for technique.

•  When should the puck be incorporated? –  It is very important that Mite coaches teach skating

technique throughout the season

A great way of practicing skating technique in a fun manner is to have scrimmages that include "skating rules" - i.e, how many times players have to crossover (or turn, or pivot, or stride, or skate backward) before shooting or passing, etc.

FORWARD SKATING “1/3 Rule” •  1st Third of Stride on the front 1/3 of blade (toe)

•  Middle third of stride is on the middle third of the blade

•  Last third of stride is on the back third of blade (heel)

TEACHING CROSSOVERS (UNDERS) •  1st- teach step over (outside over inside.

–  Balance position –  Walking position first

•  2nd- teach push-unders –  Knee bend

•  Emphasis is on the push under

TEACHING BACKWARD SKATING •  1st Teach balance

–  Ready position- push gently

•  Focus on leg drive not butt wiggle

•  One Leg at a time

•  Then teach rhythm

THINGS TO CONSIDER •  Kids are experiential- they learn fastest by 1st hand

experience

•  Coaching Mites? Don’t over coach it

•  Be Creative

•  Be consistent in language and points of emphasis

But change up how you teach –  Example: Riding the stick –  Example: Airplane glide